Lock-operated circuit-closer



'DrL. GORDON.-

. LOCK OPERATEDCIRCUIT CLOSER.

APPLICATION FILID DEC. 14, 1915. RENEWED OC-T.21,1918.'

Patented July 27, 1920..

INVENTOR v A TTORNEYS WITNESSES- Hf- 4,

' To all whom it may concern NT OFFICE... 1

. BUCK-OPERATED CIRCUIT-CLOSER.

I Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented July av-.1920.

Application filed December 14, 1915, Serial No. 66,678. Renewedflctober 21, 1918. Serial No. 259,140.

Be it known thatv 1, DAVID L. GORDON, a citizenof the United States, residing atNew York, in the county of Bronx and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Lock-Operated Circuit-Closers, of which the following is a full,

clear, and exact description, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to makeand use the same.

This invention relates to alarm apparatus, and with respect to its more specific features, to burglar alarms.

. One of theobjects of the invention isthe provision of a simple apparatusfof the character referred to, wherein the alarm will be.

operated even upon avery slight disturbance of normal conditions.

Another object of the invention is to provide a practical apparatus of the character referred to wherewith once the alarm is sounded, itwill continue to sound until purposely restored to its normaliinoperative condition.- V Still another object of the invention is the provision of an eflicient deviceof the character' referred to capable of being readily set to operate upon a minimum amount of unauthorized movement of theparts.

Other objects will be in part obvious and in art pointed out hereinafter.

he invention accordingly consists in the ,features of construction, combinations of elements and arrangement. of parts which parts throughout the several views,-

will be exemplified in the construction hereinafter set forth, and the scope of the application of which will be indicated in the fol lowing claims.

In the accompanylng drawings forming part of this specification, and wherein similar reference charactersrefer to similar Figure 1 is a face view, of a portion-of a door and jamb showing a lock associated therewith embodying one form of the invention' a I Y Fig. 2 shows a vertical section through the keeper on the line A-A, looking toward thetdoor, the circuit being shown in open condition;

Fig. 3 illustrates a horizontal sectlon through the keeper on the line BB, the

circuit being shown in closed condition;

, Fig. 4 is a perspective view of a circuit closer or terminal piece employed in the ap paratus; and

Fig. 5 is a perspective view of a terminal piece WlllOh 1s to be attached to the inner side'of the keeper.

Preliminary to a detail description of the embodiment of the invention illustrated, it

. The numeral 1 represents a portion of a 'door,-sor'other closure, 2 indicating the jamb,

3 a locking bolt, 4 the casing of the lock, and

"5 a manipulative knob or handle serving to throw the bolt 3 into or out of the keeper 6.

These elements may be similar to those commonly employed to fasten doors. When the bolt 3 is in its keeper 6, attempts to force thedoor may be made; and such attempts will result in relative movement between the keeper and the bolt, the bolt, which is usually on the door, being moved toward the strike plate 7 of the keeper, upon pressure tending to force the door. In the present embodiment the bolt 8, when in locking position, is slightly spaced from the strike plate of the keeper, as indicated at 8, so that, upon attempting to force the door, the bolt 3 may move this slight distance before coming against the strike plate. Means are provided for forming a normally open electric circuit adaptedto be closed by the movement of the bolt toward the strike plate, and

in the present embodiment this normally open circuit includes a terminal interposed between the keeper and said bolt. This ter- 9, and thecrown 12 of the keeper, these bolts being secured in position by metallic nuts 13 and 14: engaging threads on, the bolts. On each bolt is also'threaded a binding nut 15 which serves to securethereto a conducting wire 16 in circuit with a source of electricity, as battery 17, and a signal, as an alarm or hell 18. The securing bolts and their nuts form, in fact, binding posts of the electric circuit, and one of them is in contact with the piece 9, as at 19, the other being insulated The present invention fulfils these-requirements and others and efiicient manner.

from said piece, but in contact with the keeper, as at 20. The piece 9 is also insulated directly from the keeper by theinterposition of insulating material 21.

- The inner face of the stationary terminal piece 9 is adjacent the effective plane of the strike plate, but between said plane and the crown of the keeper, and immediately opposite this piece is a movable member, in the present embodiment a metallic conductor 22, the plane-of the inner face of which is 'designed to intersect the space 8 between the bolt 3 and the strike plate 7. When the bolt 3 is in securing position, it lies against or closely adjacent the inner face of the member 22, and a slight movement of this bolt toward the' strike plate, as by an at tempt to force the door, will move the mem ber 22 a suflicient distance to close the circuit, in the present instance by moving the member 22 in contact with the stationary terminal 9.

To support the conductor 22 and guide it in its movement, it is provided with a metal lic extension or stem 23, which bears in an elongated opening in the crown of, the keeper and in contact with the keeper, passing through an opening in the piece 9, from which piece it is insulated, as shown at 24. The stem 23 projects outside the keeper for convenience of manual operation and preferably is threaded for the reception of a head or cap screw 25, which may be adjusted on the stem and secured thereto in relatively stationary position by a set screw 26. In order to vary the friction of the stem 23 in its bearing, a set screw 27 is threaded into the crown of the keeper and has its end directed against the stem 23. By turning screw 27 the resistance to movement of the stem, and consequently of the member 22, may be varied.

By the foregoing described construction it will beperceived that there is provided a construction capable .of efficiently effecting the objects hereinbefore mentioned, as well as others. A very slight relative movement between the bolt 3 and its keeper, a movement so small that the door may not have moved any substantial distance fromv the jamb, will cause the member 22 to make a sufficient movement to close the circuit and cause operation of the signal or alarm 18. In the present embodimentthe member 22 is a conductor and also a movable terminal of the electric circuit, so that 'said'relative movement causes the member 22 tov effect closure of the circuit, thus operating as a circuit closer.- The circuit having been closed will remain closed, independently of further movement of the door, this result being accomplished, in the present embodiment, by the drag or friction of the stem" serves to yieldingly' 23 in the keeper, which hold the two terminals 9 and22 in contact,

and will require some force tp cause separation thereof. This force may be applied by manipulating the stem 23, as by pressing on the cap screw 25.- It will be seen that once the bolt 3 has been moved sufficiently to effect contact between the terminals 9 and 22', .the alarm will be operated and will continue .to operate, even though the door be relieved of pressure and permitted to move in the opposite direction;

One of the important features of this invention is the extentof movement of the movable'member 22. Whether it be a terminal of an electric circuit, a circuit closer adapted to bridge two terminals, or a mem-. ber which, when moved, cooperates toeffect movement of a third member to close a circuit, or otherwise, this member 22, for any installation, may be set to have a predetermined extent of movement, and by movement thereof to said extent the circuit will be closed. On account of the positive character of the parts and their position relative to each other, with no springs to move or to cause movement between the parts, an extent of movement of the movable member 22 may be accurately predetermined, and the circuit will be closed upon so much movement. This extent. of movement may also be very slight without effecting the accuracy of operation. Should it be desired to alter or vary the extent of movement to accommodate some particular situation not adapted for the predetermined extent of movement for which theparts may have been previously set, this may readily be accomplished by adjusting the cap screw. 25 on the stem. It will be observed that the .inner face of this screw lies opposite the crown of the keeper, and the keeper crown acts to limit the inward movement of the cap screw. WVhen the cap screw is adjusted to a position permitting 'a certain amount of movement of the piece 22, the piece 22 may be pressed inwardly until the cap screw contacts with the crown of the keeper, thus setting the circuit in open condition with a gap of a predetermined amount between the movable member 22 and the stationary member 9, in the present instance the terminals. l/Vhile the embodiment illustrated ite by the stationary member 9 which lies in its path, and like the strike plate obstructs further opening movement of the door.

neaasoe As many changes could be made in the above construction and many apparently widely different embodiments of this inven-- scribed, and all statementsof the scope of the invention, which, as a matter of langua e, might be said to fall therebetween.

Ilbving described my invention" what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is: I

1. In an apparatus of the character described, in combination, a bolt, an electric circuit including a conductor movable toclose the circuit by a door-opening movei *ment ofthe bolt when the bolt is in looking position, and means adapted to frictionally resist the circuit closing movement of said conductor, including hand operative means adapted to vary the frictional resistance.

2. In an apparatus of the character describechin combination, a bolt, an electric circuit including a conductor movable to close the circuit by a door opening move.-

ment of the bolt when the bolt is in looking position, and means adapted to adjust the extent of the circuit closing movement of said conductor.

3. In an apparatus of. the character described, in combination, a bolt, an electric circuit including a conductor movable to close the circuit by a door opening movement of the bolt when the bolt is in locking position, means adapted to frictionally re-.

sist movement of said conductor toward circuit closing position including hand operative means adapted to vary the frictional resistance, and means adapted to adjust the extent of the circuit closing movement of said conductor.

,4. In an apparatus of the character described, in combination, a door, a bolt, a.

keeper, an electric circuit adapted to operate an alarm, a conductor movable to'close said circuit by a door-opening movement of said bolt when in locking position, and handoperated means adapted to set said conductor to move a predetermined distance to close said circuit.

5. In an apparatus of the character described, in combination, a door, a bolt, a

keeper, an electric circuit adapted to operate an alarm, a conductor movable to close said circuit by a door-opening movement of said bolt when in locking position, and means adapted to vary the distance to be moved by said conductor to close said circuit.

It is also to be understood that the 6'. In an apparatus of the character described, in combination, a door, a bolt, a keeper, an electric circuit adapted to operate an alarm, a conductor movable to close said circuit by a door-opening movement of said bolt when in looking position, hand-operated means adapted to set said conductor to move a predetermined distance to close said circuit, and means adapted to vary the distance to be, moved by saidconductor to close said circuit. 7

- 7. In an apparatus of the character described, in combination, a door, a bolt, a keeper, an electric circuit adapted to operate an alarm,"a conductormovable to close said circuit bya door-opening movement of said bolt when-in locking position, hand-operated means adapted to set said conductor to move predetermined distance to close'said circuit, and means adapted to keep said circuit closed after its initial closure independent of a door-closing movement of said bolt.

L 8. In an apparatus of the character described, in combination, a door, a bolt, a keeper, an electric circuit adapted to operate an alarm, a conductor movable to close said circuit by a door-opening movement of said bolt when in looking position, hand-operated means adapted to set said conductor to move a predetermined distance to close said cirkeeper, an electric circuit adapted to operate an alarm comprising two terminals, one of which is mounted on said keeper, one of said terminals'm ovable, tgward the other under the influence of said bolt when the bolt is in locking position, and a push pin having a predetermined extent of movement adapted to set said movable terminal at a predetermined distance from the other terminal 10. In an apparatus of thecharacter described, in combination, a door, a bolt, a keeper, an electric circuit adapted to operate an alarm comprising two terminals, one of which is mounted on said keeper, one of said terminals movable toward the other under the influence of said bolt' when the bolt is in looking position, a push 'pin mounted on said keeper adapted to move said movable terminal away from the other terminal', and means adjustable on said pin adapted to cooperate with said keeper adapted to permit the extent of said lastmentioned movement to be varied.

11. In an apparatus of the character describedpin combination, a door, a bolt, a keeper, an electric circuit adapted to operate an alarm comprising two terminals, one of which is mounted on said keeper, one of said ment of said bolt toward said keeper being terminals movable toward the other under the influence of said bolt when the bolt is in looking position, a push pin having a predetermined extent of movement adapted to set said movable terminal at a predetermined distance from the other terminal, and a set screw adapted to vary the resistance to movement of said pin.

12. In an apparatus of the character described, in combination, a door, a bolt, a keeper, an electric circuit adapted to operate an alarm comprising a fixed terminal mounted on said keeper, a movable terminal having a stem supported on said keeper, ads

justable means on said stem cooperatingwith said keeper to limit-the movement of said stem in one direction, and a set screw adapted to press against said stem.

13. In an apparatus of the character described, in combination, a bolt and a-keeper adapted to move toward and from each other, a fixed terminal piece supported by .said keeper and interposed between said boltand said keeper, a movable terminal piece guided in a portion of saidkeeper and interposed between said bolt and said fixed ter* minal piece, hand operated means adapted to vary the resistance to movement of the movable terminal in its guide, an electric circuit of which said'terminal ,pieces are 'respective terminals, and a signal adapted to operate when said circuit is closed, moveadapted to effect" contact between said terminals.

14. In an apparatus of the character described, in combination, a bolt and a keeper adapted to move toward and from each other, a fixed terminal piece supported by said keeper and interposed between said bolt and said keeper, a movable terminal piece guided in a portion of said keeper and in terposed between said bolt and said fixed terminal piece, means carried by said movable terminal adapted to predetermi'ne the distance to which the movable terminal may be moved from said fixed terminal, an electric circuit of which said terminal pieces are respective vterminals, and a signal adapted to operate when said circuit is closed, movement of said bolt toward said keeper being adapted to effect contact between said terminals.

15. In an apparatus of the character described, incombination, a bolt and a keeper adapted to. move toward and from each other, a fixed terminal piece supported by said keeper and interposed between said bolt and said keeper, a movable terminal piece guided in a portion of said keeper and interposed between said bolt and' said fixed terminal piece, a head adjustably connected to said movable terminal and adapted to cooperate with said keeper portion to limit movement of said movable terminal away from said fixed terminal, an electric circuit of which said terminal pieces are respective terminals, and a signal adapted to operate when said circuit isclosed, movement of said bolt toward said keeper being adapted to efi'e'ct contact'between said terminals.

'16. In an apparatus of the character described, in combination, a bolt and a keeper adapted to move toward and from each other, a terminal piece opposite the inner face of the crown of said keeper and 1nv sulated from said crown, a pair of securing bolts passing through said keeper and said source and saidalarm with said securing bolts.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in the presence. of two witnesses.

DAVID L. GORDON. lVitnesses: J. 'W/ANDEnsoN, V

ABRAM BERNSTEIN. 

